Join the Conversation

Experts: Fallout from Utah ex-AGs arrests unclear

Michelle L. Price
11:05 p.m. MDT July 16, 2014

Former Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff speaks with reporters at his attorneys office after being released from the Salt Lake County Jail, Tuesday July 15, 2014, in South Salt Lake, Utah. Shurtleff and former Utah attorney general John Swallow were arrested on a battery of bribery charges Tuesday stemming from their cozy relationships with several businessmen, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said at a news conference at the FBI office in Salt Lake City.(Photo: AP)

SALT LAKE CITY – The arrests of two former Republican attorneys general on a slew of bribery charges in Utah raises questions about what political waves the allegations leave in the state, particularly for incumbent officials and the GOP, the state's controlling party.

Utah Republican Party officials were quiet after Tuesday's arrests of John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff, but some Democrats have said the charges against the former top law enforcement officers stem from unchecked power of one-party rule in the state that fails to keep leaders accountable.

Prosecutors announced that Swallow faces 13 charges, including felony bribery charges, while Shurtleff faces 10 counts that include bribery.

Swallow, 51, and Shurtleff, 56, both said Tuesday that they maintain their innocence and look forward to defending themselves in court.

Court records show Swallow is scheduled to make an initial appearance on July 22. No date has been scheduled yet for Shurtleff.

Peter Corroon, the chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, told several Utah newspapers Tuesday that he hopes the allegations send a message that Utah needs a two-party system with checks and balances.

"When you've got the fox guarding the henhouse, this is what happens," Corroon told the Deseret News.

Republicans control the state legislature, hold all statewide offices and represent five of six members of the state's Congressional delegation.

James Evans, the chairman of the Utah Republican Party, called Corroon's comments about one-party power "ludicrous."

He declined Wednesday to comment further on the arrests and charges.

Political experts say it's unclear what affect the arrests of John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff will have on Utah politics, but it's unlikely to significantly tarnish the entire GOP in the state.

Damon Cann, a political scientist at Utah State University, said the arrests are obviously bad news for Shurtleff and Swallow, but he doesn't expect major fallout for the Republican Party or any incumbent Utah politicians.

"The Republican establishment was relatively quick to distance themselves from Swallow after the scandal broke several years ago," Cann said in an email to The Associated Press.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement Tuesday that the arrests serve "as a reminder that nobody is above the law and, if anything, public servants must be held to a higher standard."

Last year, as allegations were swirling around Swallow, Herbert told reporters he would have fired Swallow if he were Swallow's boss. Later in the year when he had an opportunity to appoint a new lieutenant governor, Herbert picked state Rep. Spencer Cox, of the first Republican legislators to publicly call for Swallow to resign.

Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, noted that Republicans control the Utah House of Representatives and Utah lieutenant governor's office, both of which launched investigations into Swallow last year.

Jowers, who is also an adviser to Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, said the allegations will not likely affect any election outcomes this year because none are particularly competitive.

Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, stopped short of faulting GOP dominance for the alleged misconduct Wednesday and said the allegations cast all public officials in a negative light.

"Even though we might want to say it was this one person, it was this one culture of corruption that may have existed" in the attorney general's office, she said, "People don't separate it."

Cann said the only way the charges could lead to significant shifts in the Utah political landscape is if other major political players become ensnared in the accusations down the road.

That's a possibility, according to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, one of two county prosecutors leading the investigation.

Gill said at a news conference announcing the charges Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges will likely be filed against both men and others. They declined to offer specifics about where the investigation is going.

Associated Press reporters Brady McCombs and Annie Knox in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.